Post navigation

Bonus Episode: Technical Difficulties

Due to some unforeseen difficulties involved with our cartoon music themes episode that should have been released last week, we’re presenting you this week with a special double-length episode in which Ben and I brainstorm about upcoming episodes. Ben and I also talk about writing characters and adapting them for different mediums, and we trail off-topic a lot. (No shock, there.) We even talk about Dasien for a bit! Dasien almost took over our humble podcast!

The second half is us discussing the fan series Star Trek: Phase II. Set phazers to Shake ‘N’ Bake. This one’s gonna be a hoot!

Topics:
Upcoming episodes.
Weird superhero costumes.
Gay characters.
I used to be such a letch. What happened?!
Nazareth wrote the best dick song ever
Neil’s rendition of a typical episode of 2 Stupid Dogs
Star Trek fan wankery
Songs that are literally about wankery
Not mentioning anything that starts with “S” or ends with “onic”

Good episode, but isn’t someones ethnicity and sexuality still an important part of what defines them? I think its fair to not want it to be what defines them exclusively but to completely dismiss it outright I think feels reactionary.

It´s more regarding the way the PR handle it, not so much as to what defines the character.
Like when DC announced that they´d reveal that one of their biggest characters was gay all along. I was hoping for someone like Alfred to be revealed as gay (which in my opinion would have given a nice important message regarding gay people raising kids) but turns out that the New 52, Earth One version of Green Lantern/Sentinel had been gay all along in this ALTERNATE WORLD of an ALTERNATE WORLD…
When Marvel revealed in Ultimate X-men that Ultimate Colossus was gay, they didn´t make any fuzz…because that´s partly what acceptance and tolerance is…not making a fuss about wether you´re gay or straight or bi or whatever…Ultimate Colossus was an X-men, a Hero, a Character FIRST, who happened to bay. While Batwoman, Bunker and New 52 Earth 2 Green Lantern were announced as “Gay Characters” first, and actual DC universe characters later.
Being hispanic in a non hispanic community or being gay in a close minded society usually poses challenges that help define you by what stance you take in front of that, but in an open minded society, I don´t wake up thinking about how latin I am or how straight I am.

In writing, I try to look at sexuality and ethnicity the same way I look at someone’s height. In some respects, it is topical to the character, but it doesn’t define who they are as an individual. For me, a character is the overall personality. It’s the thing that takes all the minutia and sets that unique person apart from every other character in the fiction.

Race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual preference all part of that minutia, but in the long run, they are the least important attributes of a fictional character, because they don’t really tell the audience who the character is. They only inform you of what social issues they may be involved in, if any. When I look to creating a character, I look more in favor of what their personal tastes are, what kind of principles they follow, and how social they are around other people. Then I decide what what ethnicity or sexual identity works for them.

The problem with a lot of fan fiction is that it’s written with an agenda and is oblivious to what an audience finds appealing. Good fan fiction makes creative use of the characters. Bad fan fiction ignores the characters and tries to play mental gymnastics with the continuity. Or worse, the writer takes the character with whom they most closely relate and plays Mary Sue with them, in which case they become perfect and everything wonderful happens to them.

About Psylocke’s costume. It’s a good thing X-men don’t age like we do. Think of the leg circulation problems we my get as we get older. 60 year old Psylocke may give herself swollen ankles from the Liefeld leg bands.
“Sorry X-fans I have to wear pants now. My Leg bands give me Edema.”